Turn Left, Torchwood

Where Everything Changes

Title: Turn Left, They Keep Killing Suzie (1/2)Author: cazmalfoy & teachwriteslash for the Turn Left, Torchwood ProjectRating: PG-13Notes: A retelling of Torchwood Series 1, Episode 8 where different decisions are made. Part of the turnleft_tw Challenge. Due to length, this episode is split into two parts with internal links.Reminder: Project participants, don't leave any telling information in comments.

Detective Kathy Swanson looked up as two men approached her crime scene. One strode purposefully towards her, a military coat billowing behind him. The other followed at a slower pace, leaning heavily on a cane but with a look of determination on his face. "At last," she muttered then called. "You must be Torchwood. My team bitches about you all the time."

Jack looked the attractive woman up and down appreciatively. "And you are?" he wondered.

"Detective Swanson," she replied simply, knowing from what she'd been told that it was safer not to engage Captain Harkness personally.

"So I've heard," the DI told him as she eyed them both critically, taking in Ianto's suit and Jack's coat. "Are you always this dressy for a murder investigation?"

Jack removed his sunglasses and leered at the detective. "What? Would you rather see us naked?"

Detective Swanson rolled her eyes. "God help me, the stories are true."

Ianto snorted. "I assure you the stories are vastly underrated."

Glaring at Ianto, Jack put his sunglasses back on. He shook his head ruefully at the younger man, who was still relying on the cane he'd been using since the incident with the cannibals. While he still had a slight limp and his back continued to give him trouble if he moved the wrong way or stood in one place too long, his stamina had gradually increased and he was no longer confined to the Hub. Though he was on limited duty and not cleared for full fieldwork, he'd insisted he was capable of accompanying Jack to a crime scene.

With Owen busy doing an autopsy, and Tosh trying to train their new recruit, Gwen Cooper, on basic computer protocols, there really had not been a choice. Besides, Jack knew the Cardiff police regarded Gwen as damaged goods and would be unlikely to trust her with anything at the moment. Still, the Captain didn't have to like Ianto being back in the field so soon, but bringing Tosh and Owen and leaving Ianto alone in the Hub with Gwen, who had nearly gotten him killed just a couple of weeks earlier, was not an option either. So, Ianto was with him and he was trying not to hover.

Turning his mind back to the task at hand, Jack looked back at the detective. "So, who's the victim?" he demanded.

Leading them towards the scene, Swanson corrected him. "That's victims, plural. Yesterday, a man was murdered at 96 Oakham Street; Alex Arwyn, 28, single, estate agent. Here we go; that's from the scene of crime." She handed him a photograph, which he in turn handed to Ianto as she continued, "Today, in here, we get two more bodies, Mark and Sarah Briscoe, both 33, married. He's a surveyor; she works in education.

Ianto peered at the photo and indicated something on one of the walls. "What about the smears of blood? Is that writing?"

Detective Swanson nodded. "Work in progress. Come inside and see the finished thing."

Jack gestured for Ianto to go ahead of him as they followed the detective into a typical suburban house whose residents appeared to have neither eye nor desire for a colour other than white. Crime scene technicians filled the small space. The coppery reek of blood and the smell of death permeated the air.

"Oh, my God..," Ianto breathed, struggling not to gag at the sight of two very dead bodies and smells that reminded him of the Brecon Beacons.

"Breathe through your mouth," Jack urged him, glancing over worriedly. Then something on the wall caught his eye. "Fuck," he swore before turning back to Ianto. "Get Owen on the Comm. Tell him to forget what he's doing and get his ass over here with his kit. Now." Ianto nodded and limped away to make the call outside, glad of an excuse to get away from the smells.

"Looks like somebody wants your attention," Detective Swanson observed, gesturing to the wall where 'TORCHWOOD' was written in blood above a blood-smattered canvas that had clearly been knocked off the wall. Jack's face hardened and his jaw clenched. "They've got it," the Captain told the detective icily. Owen arrived just as Detective Swanson approached Jack and Ianto. "We found a few of the killer's hairs from the first murder. Lab results should be in soon," the DI reported.

Jack nodded, "Good, we'll need that. Now, if you could just clear the room? Some of this equipment is strictly need to know."

Shaking her head, the detective regarded the scene. "It was only a matter of time," she told the Captain pointedly.

Jack looked confused. "What was?" he demanded.

"This," Swanson gestured at the bodies. "Torchwood walks all over this city, like you own it. Now these people are paying the price - ordinary people, ripped apart, with your name written in their own blood. From where I'm standing, you did this, Captain Jack Harkness. You did it." She stomped out and Owen closed the door behind her.

Shaking his head at Jack, the medic indicated the crime scene. "Still, at least we've got a head start. If it's someone we've pissed off, that narrows it down to… ooh, four or five million." He snapped on his latex gloves.

"And that's just the humans," Jack sighed. "Ianto, how we doing?

Ianto walked back over from where he'd been consulting with Tosh over the comm while he took readings and pictures. "Tosh says there's no record of the Briscoe's in our database. Nothing on yesterday's victim, and no link between him and the Briscoe's. No apparent connection between any of them. She's got Gwen checking deeper for any link, no matter how small."

"That'll keep her occupied," Jack muttered, then eyed the Welshman. "How are you holding up? This is going to be a long day. I can send you back to the Hub with Owen and have Tosh…"

His words were interrupted by a shout from Owen. "Jack? They've got the results on the killer's hair."

Outside, the three men met Detective Swanson, who handed Owen a folder. "Initial findings say, Caucasian male, early 40s, smoker, drinks tequila. Doesn't match any DNA profiles. Only thing of interest is a compound we've never seen before. Recognise it?"

"Fuck," the medic breathed, glancing at the file in his hands. "We're in trouble."

"What is it?" Ianto asked, glancing over Owen's shoulder. "Shit."

"About sums it up," the Londoner retorted as he looked at Jack. "Compound B67."

Jack looked gob-smacked. "You're kidding?"

"Nope," Owen replied, looking serious. "He's got Retcon in his blood."After securing the bodies and returning to the Hub, Jack contacted Detective Swanson to order the release of the first victim, Alex Arwyn, to Torchwood. All three corpses were now in the autopsy bay.

Moving gingerly and leaning on his cane, Ianto distributed coffee to everyone. Over the past few weeks, the team had become adept at taking it from him without upsetting the tray. After Gwen arrived, she'd offered to help at first, but had been gently and politely rebuffed. She'd continued to push until Tosh told her firmly to back off.

"But he's injured," Gwen had protested. "Surely he shouldn't be serving all of you."

"We know that," Tosh had hissed. "We've tried to help him, but he's also proud. Leave him be."

Only Jack noticed Ianto's discomfort around Gwen. She'd been a thorn in his side since she'd first shown up three months earlier. This last time, she'd invaded his mind and nearly gotten him killed. To Jack's surprise, though, Ianto had agreed with hiring her, though Tosh and Owen had protested vehemently.

"The only safe place for her is here," Ianto had said when Jack met with the team prior to Gwen's arrival.

"And why should we care what happens to her?" Owen had demanded. "She's a bloody nuisance."

"I never said I cared what happened to her," Ianto had replied. "I'm more concerned with us and the rest of Cardiff. She's gotten in here twice. She's more than a nuisance; she's a menace. Either we Retcon her back to infancy – and I mean literally destroy her mind – or we keep her where we can see her and try minimise the damage."

So, Gwen had joined them. They were all taking great pains to train her properly while keeping her away from anything she could use to create havoc. Jack thought her police skills might come in handy, if they could get her to think first and act later. He'd decided that one way to put a stop to her endless questions was to let her review the files on the cases she had stumbled on, including Suzie and the glove. As it happened, having the information fresh in Gwen's mind gave them their first real lead in the murders.

Ianto sat his own coffee down and put the tray aside. He took a seat as the briefing began. They were using the main part of the Hub rather than the briefing room; no one had out and out said it, but it was to prevent Ianto from having to climb the stairs, which still posed a significant challenge. He often navigated them to bring something to Jack's office, but there was a tacit agreement among his three original team members not to force him to do it more than was needed.

"Most likely," Owen admitted. "That still leaves the question- is he remembering that he's a serial killer? Or is he becoming a serial killer because of the Retcon?"

Gwen paled visibly. "Wait a minute. I've taken Retcon," she stated, a slight noteslight note of panic in his voice.

"For all the good that did," Owen muttered, earning himself a glare from Tosh.

Jack just grinned at the former PC. "Then better stay away from sharp objects." He turned to Ianto. "How many people have we given amnesia pills to?"

"Two thousand eight," the Welshman responded without consulting his notes.

Owen whistled through his teeth, and then looked around manically. "Hey, what if they all become psychotic?"

Tosh glared at the medic in fond exasperation, but a twinkle in her eye belied her annoyance. "Must you sound so happy?" she demanded.

Owen looked unrepentant. "I'm just saying. Mean Streets!"

"Okay," Jack ordered. "Work to do. Tosh, narrow the list down to fit Swanson's profile and start checking them out as fast as you can. Owen, I want complete autopsies on all three victims. Find anything and everything the coroner missed. Ianto, there's got to be a link between the victims. If we find the link, then we find the killer. Gwen, help him and Tosh as they need it. Get to it!"

Gwen looked perplexed. "Jack? If there is a link, why don't we just ask the victims themselves?"

The rest of the team stared at the former PC in confusion as Jack quipped, "Not the right time for a séance, thank you very much."

"I don't mean that," Gwen sighed. "The first time I met Torchwood, you had that glove. I remember it now, and I saw it in the files."

Jack looked at her incredulously. "Oh, no way!"

"Not after what it did to Suzie," Owen shouted. "Or did you skip that part of the file?"

Gwen shook her head. "I know what it did, but it brings people back to life just for two minutes. We could question the murder victims and stop this."

"You sound like Suzie," Owen countered. "That's exactly what she said. She was one of us; we trusted her and now she's dead because of that thing."

"The glove stays in the safe where it belongs," Jack said with a pointed look at Gwen.

"So people keep dying?" Gwen demanded. "These murders are happening because of Torchwood. Torchwood has got to do something."

The look of guilt on Jack's face told the rest of the team that Gwen had won her point.Up in the office, the team watched as Jack removed the glove from his secure safe. "It fell through the Rift about forty years ago," he explained. "It just lay at the bottom of the Bay till we dredged it up. I always figured that this wasn't just lost. Whoever made it wanted rid of it. After Suzie, I thought I knew why." Around him, the team shifted uncomfortably.

Owen tried to break the tension by noting sarcastically, "You know, we never gave it a cool name.

Tosh looked pensive. "I thought we called it the resurrection gauntlet?"

Shaking his head, Owen muttered, "Cool name."

Glancing up slyly at Jack, Ianto suggested, "What about the Risen Mitten?" As the team looked at him in disbelief, he scathingly demanded, "What? I think it's catchy."

Jack nodded his head with a snort, while Owen rolled his eyes and muttered something about smart-assed, sarcastic Welshmen.In the autopsy bay, Jack, Gwen, and Owen stood near the body of the first victim while Tosh waited by her computer to record the events. Jack watched with narrowed eyes as Ianto moved into place to time the resurrection. The other man was limping more than he had been earlier and was clearly tired.

"Jack? You okay?" Gwen's voiced commanded his attention.

"Yeah," the Captain replied, carefully removing his watch and tossing it to Ianto. The younger man caught it, and the two exchanged brief glances as Ianto pocketed it and removed his own stopwatch. Jack's eyes asked a question he wouldn't voice, and Ianto nodded briefly, assuring his boss that he was fine for the moment. "Okay," Jack reminded them and he pulled on the glove. "Don't forget, the maximum resurrection time is two minutes. That's only because Suzie had practice. The most we're likely to get is thirty seconds. Tosh, you ready?"

"Ready and recording," Tosh replied from her station. "This man was victim number one. His name is Alex Arwyn."

Jack placed his hand on the victim's head, his facial expressions changing as he concentrated. "Come on, Alex," he muttered. "Come back."

"How does it work?" Gwen inquired, staring with a little consternation at the scene before her.

Without looking at her, Jack responded impatiently. "You just sort of feel around, like reaching into the dark and finding the dead." His face had started to show the strain. "I can't… I don't… Damn!" He pulled off the glove, which made a hissing sound as he dropped it and shook his hand in obvious pain. "Argh! Nothing! Sorry. I never was very good with this thing. Owen?"

The medic shook his head. "I tried last time. We all had a go, but it only responded to Suzie."

"I could give it another go," Ianto ventured, but Jack interrupted him.

"No. You're not medically cleared for full field work," the Captain replied. "I'm calling this full field work. You're not ready."

"Have to agree with him, Tea Boy," Owen added when Ianto started to protest. "We saw how much it took out of Suzie. It's not the best idea. I don't fancy putting you back together again, not to mention dealing with Jack here while I do it."

"I never had a go," Gwen said hesitantly, more memories of the scene in the alley coming back to her. "I could try."

The team exchanged glances. Ianto shook his head at Jack, who shrugged and handed Gwen the glove before moving aside so that she could read the corpse more easily

As she slid the glove on, Gwen muttered, "It's cold."

"It warms up," Jack assured her. "The glove relies on some sort of empathy. Maybe compassion and… Hell, just be yourself," he finally concluded, glancing at the others, who wore various expressions ranging from disbelief on Tosh's face, to annoyance on Owen's, and concern on Ianto's.

"Ready to record," Tosh noted as Gwen touched Alex's head and gasped. Ianto clicked the stopwatch as he watched the tableau in front of him through narrowed eyes.

On the table, Alex began to twitch and cried out, "Somebody help me! Oh, my God, help me, help me, help me!"

Jack moved in closer. "Alex! I need you to listen to me."

"Somebody help! Help me!" the young man begged.

"That's what we're doing!" Jack assured him. "Alex, you were attacked. Do you know who it was? Who attacked you?"

"I want my mum," Alex pleaded. "Please! Let me see my mu…" His voice trailed off and he went limp.

Alarms on various machinery began to sound as Owen reported, "He's gone."

Gwen was fixated on the man in front of her. "Let me keep trying."

"Gwen, he's dead," Owen retorted, making eye contact with Jack, who moved closer to Gwen.

"But I can bring him back," the former PC insisted, a desperate edge to her voice.

"The glove only works once," Jack told her firmly.

"But I can do it," she pleaded. "Just let me try."

"Gwen," Jack said sharply. "Look at me. He's gone."

Gwen pulled the glove away from Alex, flinching slightly as it again made a hissing sound. Ianto looked at Jack in concern. "That was too easy. She held him for nearly twenty-four seconds," he said with just the slightest touch of awe mixed with worry.

Ianto shrugged. "It's the button on the top," he admitted, catching Jack's eye then inclining his head towards Gwen.

Clearing his throat, Jack asked. "What do you think? Gwen? Do you want to stop?"

"No," Gwen replied firmly. "We still don't know anything."

"This time, when I tell you to stop, you stop," Jack ordered. "Am I clear?"

"Yes," Gwen replied, pulling the glove back on and moving to the second corpse.

Still at her desk, Tosh noted, "Recording. Victim number two, Mark Briscoe."

From next to Mark's body, Gwen gasped. "Oh God, I can feel him; it's like a rope from my heart to the glove... Oh, it's so warm." She sounded almost entranced. Mark groaned as he came back, but he didn't panic like Alex had.

Jack nodded. "We're looking after her," he assured the man. "Now Mark, who was it?"

Mark shuddered. "It was that man. He belonged to Pilgrim; he went to Pilgrim."

Jack looked at the others and shrugged. "What's Pilgrim?" he asked.

"Oh my God," Mark gasped. "He had a knife."

"No, Mark," Jack comforted him. "He's gone, but we don't have long. Quickly, what was his name?"

"Thirty-five seconds," Ianto warned.

"Max," Mark said. "We never knew his surname."

"I'm trying a search on Pilgrim and Max," Tosh reported from the computer. "See if you can get a description."

"Come on, Mark," Jack urged. "You've got to give us something more so we can catch him."

"He's going," Owen cautioned, looking at the monitors.

"There was… There was someone who knew him better," Mark gasped. "That woman… She was always talking to him."

"What was her name?" Jack demanded.

Mark started to panic. "Where's my wife?"

"Her name!" Jack shouted desperately as Ianto and Owen flinched.

"Suzie," Mark gasped then went limp as alarms began to sound.

Ianto clicked off the stopwatch as Gwen again removed the glove. "One minute five seconds," he reported automatically, before sharing an anguished look with Jack. Tosh, Owen; Gwen just looked shocked.

"Jack?" Tosh asked hesitantly. "Did I hear that right?"

"Could be anyone," Owen argued almost desperately. "There must be lots of women called Suzie."

Jack sighed and ran his hand over his face. "Not connected to this case," he said sadly. "We've been talking to the wrong corpses." He looked around the room. "I'm not about to resurrect Suzie after this long without a damn good reason. We go through everything from both crime scenes and Suzie's effects. We need to find a connection more solid than the word of a dead man."An hour later, Tosh entered the conference room holding a sheaf of papers. "These were found at the Briscoe's," she told Jack. "Pilgrim. It's a religious support group; actually more like a debating society. They talked about the meaning of life and does God exist. It was tiny, more like a hobby, run by Mark Briscoe's wife, Sarah. She had all this stashed in the wardrobe. It's all handwritten and photocopied; that's why we couldn't find any records. She wasn't even online."

Jack took the papers from her. "No mention of Suzie, or Max?" he demanded.

"Not a word," Tosh told him. "She didn't even keep a register."

Owen was shaking his head. "It wouldn't be our Suzie, though. She wouldn't go to that support group bollocks."

Gwen looked irritated. "How do you know? I mean, were you friends? Any of you? Who was her best friend in this place?"

"Well, then, if she needed to talk, maybe that's exactly where she'd go; a group of complete strangers," Gwen insisted, looking around the room and trying to get any of the team to make eye contact with her.

"Could be that you've got a point, Gwen," Jack admitted. "Time we got to know our deceased colleague a little better. We're going on a road trip."Thirty minutes later, the team found themselves at a storage facility outside of Cardiff. As Ianto keyed in a series of codes, Gwen looked at Jack. "Have I got this right? When I die, you get to keep all my possessions? My whole life's going to get stashed in a locker?

"Rules and regulations," Ianto explained as he entered the last sequence.

Gwen stared at him. "What if I leave all my stuff to Rhys?" she demanded.

Jack looked distracted as he helped Owen raise the door on the storage locker. "We'll stash him away, too," he told her flippantly, then looked around and took a deep breath. "Tread carefully and with respect, people. This is the life of Suzie Costello."

"This is all we are in the end," Tosh told Gwen as they started to search. "A pile of boxes."

"Did she have any family?" Gwen asked.

"Don't know," Ianto replied from where he was helping Jack go through what looked like financial records. Owen had moved off to one side, working by himself.

Gwen blinked rapidly, looking surprised. "But you must've looked them up? To tell them she was dead?"

Tosh shook her head. "When Suzie left Torchwood, she was on the run. She wiped all her records. I couldn't retrieve her files; she was good at computers. Actually, she was good at everything." She sounded a bit envious, maybe even jealous.

A bitter laugh echoed from the corner. "She was good at murder, too," Owen reminded her. "Laugh a minute; that was Suzie."

Sensing an undercurrent between her colleagues, Gwen crossed over to where Jack and Ianto were working. "What's that?" she gestured to something Jack was holding in his hands thoughtfully.

"A book," Jack replied sarcastically, causing Gwen to snort.

"I noticed," she retorted. "I meant what book?"

"Emily Dickinson," Ianto told her. "An American poet."

From across the room, Tosh called. "Jack," she waived a piece of paper at him. "Pilgrim. She's part of it."

Jack sighed resignedly. "That proves it, then," he told them. "No choice. It's time Suzie came back." Back at the Hub, Jack insisted on thawing and retrieving Suzie's body alone. Owen and Tosh both seemed relieved, but glanced at Ianto; clearly surprised he hadn't followed the Captain.

Once Jack had Suzie situated in the autopsy room, he called the others in. As Gwen again donned the glove, Tosh began to set up the computer recording, Owen readied the medical equipment and Ianto prepared to time the resurrection. When it was clear everything was ready, they all looked at each other awkwardly. No one seemed to want to make the call to actually start the process.

Gwen broke the silence. "Do we all get frozen?" she asked. "Torchwood staff, when we die, do we all get kept?"

"Rules and regulations," Ianto told her again, a small bit of exasperation creeping into his voice.

"How long for?" Gwen prodded.

Jack raised an eyebrow and regarded the young woman. "Forever," he told her.

"Recording," Tosh reported, shifting uncomfortably.

"Have you got your stopwatch?" Owen asked Ianto.

Rolling his eyes, Ianto displayed the timepiece. "Always," he assured the medic.

Tosh stood abruptly, looking at Owen then averting her eyes. "I'll record from my station. I'm sorry, but I don't want to look her in the eye. Sorry." She fled the autopsy bay, leaving silence in her wake.

Jack looked around the room. "Anyone else?" he asked. "I won't blame you." Ianto shook his head; if Jack was staying then so was he.

Jack turned to look at Owen, who just looked away. "Can we just get this over with it?" the medic demanded.

Gwen looked at Jack. "Any advice?" she asked, and then laughed humourlessly as he glared at her. "Yeah, I know. Empathy."

Gwen started to say something, but Jack silenced her with a shake of his head. "Let's just do this," he ordered.

Placing a gloved hand to Suzie's head, Gwen gasped. "I'm getting a reading," Owen reported as Ianto began to time the scene. The medical equipment started to beep again then screech. "It's gone," the doctor said.

Gwen was breathing heavily. "I just saw memories," she said. "I'm going to keep trying." Owen assessed her visually, then grasped her wrist and took her pulse. He looked at Jack and shook his head.

"No," Jack said. "You're done. Give me the glove."

"I can do this," Gwen insisted. "I can reach her."

"I said you're done, Gwen," Jack replied. "I don't know how it worked in the Cardiff Police Department, but when I give an order I expect it to be obeyed."

"Fine," Gwen said, shoving the glove at him. She leant against the railing, sulking.

Over the speaker, Tosh asked. "What do we do now?"

"Nothing we can do," Jack said. "That's it. We're out of options."

"There's always the knife," Ianto reminded him. "When she killed all those people, she always used the knife. It's made out of the same metal as the glove," he added.

"Ianto's right. We've seen it before," Tosh commented. "It could be metallic resonance. The glove works better if the knife's part of the process, like closing a circuit."

"Then let's use it," Gwen said, moving to take the glove from Jack.

"No," Jack replied, stepping back from Gwen's reach. "I'll try. I'll make it work for me this time. If it doesn't, we call it a day and you get some rest before we try again."

"Ermm, small detail," Owen observed. "The knife was used to kill people. She's already dead."

"Alright," Jack winced. "So we kill her again." He turned and handed Ianto the glove, flicking his eyes briefly to Gwen, who was being more thoroughly examined by Owen. Ianto nodded quickly in understanding as Jack left the autopsy bay and headed to his office. He returned a few minutes later with the knife.

Owen looked at the nasty looking weapon and shuddered. "Ianto?" he asked.

Owen and Jack both nodded. Donning the glove, Jack approached the body. Using his free hand, he made a shallow cut on Suzie's arm. "I felt something. I think I can reach her because I know her and she knows me. Did you get anything?" he asked Owen.

"No," the medic replied. "There was just a sort of a blip and then it was gone. I'm sorry, Jack. You're going to have do it properly."

"What the hell," Jack muttered. "It's not like this can get any more disrespectful." He raised the knife up in a fluid motion and brought it down into Suzie's chest.

On the table, Suzie gasped as Ianto began timing.

"Suzie?" Jack called. "Listen. It's me, Jack."

Suzie looked around wild-eyed. "I've got to go! I can't stay, they know."

Gwen launched herself at the woman on the table. "Stay here. Damn you!"

"Get back, Gwen," Jack roared as Owen pulled something from a drawer and moved to help. Jack gestured to Ianto to stay back, which he did reluctantly, knowing his limited mobility would be more of a hindrance than a help in restraining the Welshwoman.

"She's not getting away this time," Gwen snarled. "Stay here!" she demanded as the glove made a hissing noise and Suzie collapsed. "No!" she shrieked.

Jack discarded the glove and pulled Gwen away. "I told you to stop!" he hissed, staggering a bit.

Owen grabbed for her. "It's all right. I've got her; I've got her. Stop it," he told the woman. "I will sedate you." He gestured to the syringes in his hand. "Calm down." As Gwen subsided, Owen sat her down on the stairs. "Stay there," he told her. "Don't move." He looked at Jack. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Jack replied, looking pale and wiping the sweat from his brow.

"Right," Owen said. "We need to get her out of here," he added, indicating Gwen. "Can you come and give me a hand? I need to figure out why she freaked out like that."

"It's the glove," Jack replied sadly. "I told you they get hooked."

"All right, don't make a fuss," Owen assured him. "It's over now."

Ianto was watching the scene with more than a little concern. "About that; I'm still counting."

"There's not much point," Owen said over his shoulder. "Suzie's dead and the glove only works once."

Ianto shook his head. "No, according to the equipment, she's just unconscious."

Jack looked at Suzie, then back at Ianto with shock on his face. "What the hell's going on?"

Jack glanced around, taking in Owen's shocked expression, Gwen's huddled form, and Ianto's concern. "Great," he muttered. "Just great."An hour later, Jack re-entered the autopsy bay with Ianto trailing behind him, carrying several files. Suzie was awake and the table had been adjusted to allow her to sit up. She was still hooked up to monitors, but Owen had silenced the alarm. Her head, which still bore evidence of the gunshot wound that killed her, was wrapped in bandages: more for the rest of the team than for her. Jack had sent Gwen to the conference room to review other files. He wanted her as far away from Suzie and the glove as possible. Out in the main part of the Hub, Tosh and Owen were watching from Toshiko's computer. Owen kept shifting uncomfortably and glancing at Tosh, who would not look at him.

"How long has it been?" Suzie asked Jack when she saw him.

"Three months," Jack told her as he pulled up a stool and sat next to the exam table.

"When can I die?" she whimpered. "I just want to go. Can't you leave me alone?"

"You seem to be stuck," Jack told her with genuine regret in his voice.

"Am I going to stay like this?" she asked, staring first at Jack then at Ianto, who glanced at his Captain. "Great," Suzie muttered. "For how long?"

"We don't know," Ianto admitted.

"Can I see my family?" Suzie asked.

Jack shook his head. "No."

"You wiped your records," Ianto explained. "We had no trace of them.

"So, they don't even know that I'm dead?" Suzie said incredulously.

"Technically, you're not anymore," Jack told her.

"This is sick," Suzie moaned.

Jack was clearly out of patience. "You started it," he spat. "Right now, we've got an investigation underway." He took the folder Ianto handed him and spread the pictures out in front of her. "You visited these Pilgrim meetings and gave an amnesia pill to someone called Max. How do we find him?"

"What for?" Suzie asked. "What did he do? He was just an ordinary bloke."

Over the speaker, Owen said. "We need to know, how much Retcon did you give him?"

Suzie grinned up at where she knew the CCTV was. "Owen. Hello. Scared to face me?"

"Yeah," Owen admitted. "You frighten the shit out of me."

"Jack. Ianto. Owen. What about Toshiko?" Suzie asked. "Is she still here?"

"Yeah, she's here," Owen replied when Tosh didn't answer. "All the gang. Happy days. But the amnesia pills, how many did you give him?"

"One a week," Suzie admitted. "Every week. For two years."

"Christ!" Owen gasped. "No wonder."

Jack looked horrified. "What the hell did you do that for?"

Suzie shrugged. "I just wanted someone to talk to about this place. It was driving me mad. He listened, that's all; he just listened. Every week, as soon as I'd finished talking, I'd give him the pill."

Jack started to respond angrily, but Ianto placed a restraining hand on his arm. "What was his surname?"

Suzie shook her head. "I don't know," she admitted. "All I ever did was talk about me like some bloody princess. It's all my fault, isn't it? Never bloody stops being my fault. Can't you just let me die?"

"No," Jack snarled bitterly. "You don't get off that easily."

"Yeah, you did warn me, right at the beginning," she agreed. "Did he warn you, Ianto? This is the one job you can never quit."

"Never seen the need," Ianto reminded her. "I sought it, remember?"

"Yeah," Suzie nodded. "It gets into your blood."

Jack saw an opening. "Then let's get to work. Come on, Suzie! Just like the old days. There's got to be something."

Suzie glanced at the pictures again. "Hold on," she said. "There's someone missing. This girl came every week. She was a student, blonde. She's not in these photos."

"Who was she?" Jack prompted.

Suzie paused. "Lucy," she recalled. "Lucy Mackenzie. Said she worked at a club."

"Which one?" Jack demanded as Suzie hesitated. "Come on, Suzie? Which club? For God's sake, this Max is killing every single member of Pilgrim. Now tell me, Lucy Mackenzie, where did she work, which club?"

"Wolf," she replied. "The Wolf Bar."

"Why is it always wolves?" Jack muttered, grabbing the files and the glove. He began shouting orders as he made his way to the main part of the Hub. "Okay, Ianto, secure this thing, then I want you on the CCTV. Use that eye of yours to help us scan the crowd. Gwen, get down here and stay with Suzie. Do not leave her alone. Ianto, patch the CCTV through to autopsy. Suzie can help us find Max. Owen, Tosh, with me. We're going clubbing." The Wolf Bar turned out to be loud, noisy, and crowded.

"Cover the exits," Jack ordered Owen and Tosh. "Give me Glenn Miller any day," he muttered. "This is not music. Like I didn't have a raging headache already."

Back at the Hub, Suzie and Gwen watched over the CCTV from autopsy as Ianto scanned the crowd from Tosh's workstation in the main part of the Hub.

"Nothing yet," she replied. "Keep moving round." She turned to Gwen. "Can I get some water?" she asked. "My throat's dry."

"I'm not sure," Gwen stammered. "It might not be good for you."

"What's it going to do?" Suzie asked. "Kill me? Even the condemned get water."

Looking wide-eyed, Gwen scrambled to grab a bottle of water. She didn't notice Suzie reach for something off one of the trays and pocket it.

"Keep alert, people," Jack reminded them over the Comm. "To repeat, Max is described as 40, six-three, six-four, stocky, short dark hair, and a tattoo down his left arm. Ianto, shout if you see anything."

"Yes, sir," Ianto responded, focusing on the screen.

"Wait," Owen reported. "I've got a match on that guy."

"Where is he?" Jack asked.

"Northwest Bar," Owen gestured.

"Show me," Suzie demanded as Gwen returned with the water. "Get in closer, which one do you mean?"

"He's going over for the…" Owen began then paused. "Wait, I've got a match on our girl, Lucy Mackenzie, the student."

Moving quickly, Jack placed himself between the technician and Max, subduing the man with a taser. "That's one for Ianto," he said fondly. "Risen mitten, life knife, and that old classic, stun gun. Come on," he gestured to where Owen was giving a shaken Tosh a quick once over, "let's get him out of here."

Back at the Hub, Gwen rested a hand on Suzie's shoulder. "You saved Tosh's life," she said.

Suzie shrugged. "Maybe I came back for a reason." They secured Max in a cell. Feeling tired, Jack leant against the wall next to the cell. Owen stood in the corridor with a clipboard, interrogating the suspect. He paused after questions, but Max's face remained empty.

"Okay," Owen repeated. "Your name is Max Tresillian. Can you confirm that? You live at 106 Endeavour Terrace, is that right? Parents are Sandra and Dave, yeah? You're inside the Torchwood facility."

At the word ‘Torchwood', Max threw himself at the glass and started hammering it with his fists and snarling.

Owen counted. "And five, six. Keep watching. Soon as we reach ten." Max returned to the exact same empty way as ten seconds before. "He just stops dead" the medic concluded. "If this is a drug-induced psychosis, then it's a very specific one."

Jack nodded. "Like he reacts to the word Torchwood."

Max snarled and pounded on the glass again, as Owen admonished, "Thanks, Jack."

"Sorry," Jack grinned unrepentantly. "If that's caused by Retcon, then we've got a million more problems on the way." He turned to leave. "Let me know what the scan says."

"Jack," Owen called after him. "What about Suzie? What are you going to do with her?"

Jack shook his head. "No idea. What do you think?"

"You're the boss," Owen shrugged with a small, almost sympathetic smile.

"Yeah," Jack admitted, calling "Torchwood," over his shoulder as Owen followed him out and Max growled while banging on the glass in now empty corridor.

In the interrogation room, Suzie waited with Gwen. The former operative was clearly getting twitchy.